Indonesia Is Now Taking People Who Violate Quarantine Rules And Putting Them In A 'Haunted House'

Fed up with people breaking virus quarantine rules, one Indonesian politician has decided to scare rulebreakers straight by locking them in a 'haunted house'.

Sragen regency head Kusdinar Untung Yuni Sukowati says she issued the unusual edict this week to deal with an influx of people to the area after lock downs in the capital Jakarta and other major cities.

Some newcomers, however, weren't respecting orders that they isolate themselves for 14 days to prevent the spread of the coronavirus across the region on Indonesia's densely populated Java island.

So Sukowati instructed communities to repurpose abandoned houses that were feared to be haunted - tapping widespread beliefs in the supernatural, which play a key role in Indonesian folklore.

'If there's an empty and haunted house in the village, put people in there and lock them up,' Sukowati told AFP on Tuesday when she was asked about the rule.

Officials in Sepat village chose a long-abandoned house and outfitted it with beds placed at a distance and separated by curtains.

I cannot believe this is a real-life thing that is happening. Every once in a while you see something come across your timeline that makes you think "damn, I really do live in a simulation" and this was one of those things for me. People being held captive in a haunted house? I didn't buy it at first but then I took a step back and remembered all the other crazy shit that's going on in the world. Yep, this is real.

That's not even to say I hate the idea, I actually think it's perfect. It's just when you see the headline "Indonesia locks quarantine violators in a 'haunted house' to scare them into observing rules", you tend to re-read it just to make sure there wasn't some sort of mistake.

When I say that the idea is perfect, I mean it. There's no better way to keep people inside than to threaten them with having to sit in a creepy ass building where you're probably just getting facefucked by ghouls, goblins, and anything of the sort.

I still cover my eyes when watching anything remotely scary, what makes you think I want to waste away in some haunted house? NOTHING. Which is why this is so perfect. No one will even think twice about breaking the quarantine rules when you hit them with such a punishment. No sane human being wants any part of a haunted house. Fuck that. I'd rather just stay at home and just watch tv all day.

So far, the village has locked up three recently-arrived residents who are being forced to spend the remainder of their two-week quarantine in the spooky abode.

Among them was Heri Susanto, who said his punishment hadn't brought him face to face with any ghosts - so far.

'But whatever happens, happens,' said Susanto, who came from neighbouring Sumatra island.

'I know this is for everyone's safety. Lesson learned.'

"Lesson learned" seems to be a pretty big endorsement for the whole thing. That's the point of it all in the first place.

Imagine they just rounded up all the people in the streets crying about how they can't get haircuts and threw them all in a haunted house. They wouldn't leave their house ever again. If something like this did (normally I'd say this would NEVER happen, but I also didn't expect a virus to turn the entire world on its head so who's to say) get implemented in the States, I don't think I'd even come within 5 feet of my door. Can't risk spending the night with old man Jenkins up to his old tricks.

At the end of the day, this just seems like an effective way to get people to stay inside. Since nobody is dying (yet) during this test run in Indonesia, I say we should legitimately look at this as the solution to our problems. Just take all of the assholes who think they're tougher than the coronavirus and stick them into a house filled with all sorts of haunted entities. Maybe then they'll actually learn to stay inside.